Has everyone thawed out from last week's "Polar Vortex." It got down to about 18 degrees here in South Alabama. But that is nothing, one reader on the Five4Five Facebook page said it got down to -43 with the wind chill at her house in West Michigan. I can't even fathom how cold that is.

But it was still plenty freezing at our house and too cold to go outside and play. And then it rained. And then the baby was sick. So we've been stuck inside for what feels like 100 years.

I had to come up with ways to keep my 2-year-old happy and busy and entertained.

I thought I would share some of those with you.

1. Painting with pompoms and clothes pins.

What you'll need:

Paper

Finger Paint

Craft Pompoms

Clothes Pins

This is so much fun! Ry got a GIANT coloring book for Christmas. The pages are the perfect size for clumsy little fingers. You simply clip the pompom in the clothes pins and have your child dip the pompom in the paint. They can paint til their hearts content and when they're done you throw out the pompom. You aren't fooling with paint brushes.

You can get a pack of 100 pompoms at the Dollar Tree for $1.

I store the paint, clothes pins and extra pompoms in a gallon size freezer bag.

2. Car Ramp.

What you'll need:

Cardboard Box, flattened

Tape

Flatten out your box to one long strip and tape any flaps down. (See video above.)

I taped mine to a tall toy you could use another box or a book shelf. Anything that makes a ramp.

My son and my husband had hours worth of fun sending cars, trucks, trains and balls down that ramp. A week later and it's still standing in my house.

3. Snowman.

What you'll need

1 cup baking soda

4 tbsp water

1 tbsp salt

1/2 tsp dish detergent

Mix your salt and baking soda. Add in your water a little at a time until it's crubly. Add in your detergent and form into balls.

Let your toddler pour the water over the snowman and watch it "melt."

I also put a little blue food coloring in mine and we watched all the colors swirl together.

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